Tuesday, April 4, 2017

Ugly Crying by Christine DePetrillo

Few things in real life make me cry. I’m that person who has the urge to laugh at wakes. I don’t find sadness where most people do.

Well-written stories, however, have the potential to make me shed tears. For some reason, I’m able to connect with characters and plots on a level that brings my emotions to the forefront. Maybe I feel as if it’s “safe” to get attached to stories because they aren’t real. They don’t really affect anything.

Or do they?

One well-written TV series that I got attached to was The Vampire Diaries. Now, I’m not proud of this. I’m over 40. Why am I watching anything on the CW? What could possibly be relevant to me in a cast full of youngsters, many of them supernatural?

The short answer is nothing. BUT, somehow I faithfully watched all seasons of this show and the characters were as real to me as people I actually know. I spent one hour a week with these folks and followed them through their ups and downs. I was shocked when they were shocked. Happy when they were happy.

Heartbroken when they were heartbroken.

Last month, The Vampire Diaries came to an end. I thought the writers did a fabulous job wrapping everything up. They threw in a few twists and turns I never saw coming, brought back so many characters from past episodes, and paid tribute to what the story was really about – epic love.

So… yeah… I ugly cried my eyes out during that series finale. I mean sobbed. Harder than I should have for sure. I cried for the characters who didn’t end up together. I cried for the friends that remained loyal. I cried for the sacrifices that were made. I cried for the reunions that happened.

I cried for the end of an era.

Not sure where I’ll get my supernatural fix next. I guess I could start from Season One and enjoy The Vampire Diaries all over again just like I did with True Blood. Although I did hear tale of another series starting up in July based on Charlaine Harris books, so maybe I’ll give that a whirl. I’m not one for cop shows and I don’t watch hospital shows and real-life dramas bore me. I love romance and fantasy so anything that blends the two is for me.

If you have any suggestions for shows I should watch while I wait for my next supernatural obsession—and a good ugly cry when the series ends—I’d love to hear them.

What makes you ugly cry?

Toodles,
Chris
The Maple Leaf Series, Books One to Six, available now
The Shielded Series, Books One to Three, available now
Wolf Kiss, Book One in The Warrior Wolves Series, coming soon



9 comments:

Diane Burton said...

I tear up at movies and TV shows, sometimes a book. The tears came with the last episode of Rizzoli and Isles. I loved those characters from the beginning, and the ending was great. The first time I read Linda Howard's Cry No More I sobbed. I still tear up when I read it again, although the impact isn't as great. Not to seem immodest, but a scene in one of my own books made me cry when I wrote it. Reading it some time later, the impact was as strong. Tears are good for us. Cathartic. Glad I'm not the only one who cries over TV shows and books.

Leah St. James said...

Hi, Chris...Unlike you, I cry at everything. Like the old Kodak commercials, or the Budweiser one with the Clydesdale and the man who trained him meeting up years later in NYC. I don't "ugly cry" routinely, mostly at truly sad movies or books. Kristen Hannah's books will usually do it at one point or another. One Danielle Steele book I read when I was in my teens made me cry so hard I never picked up another. (I know...what an awful thing for an author to say about another. I'm glad her loyal readers keep her going!) The worst, I think, was at the end of the movie Sommersby with Jodie Foster and Richard Gere. My sister and I sat in the theater sobbing like we'd just lost our mother. It was ugly. :-) I now refuse to go to movies that I know end with sadness.

Great topic!

Leah St. James said...

I meant to add: Have you ever watched Orphan Black from BBC? It's not supernatural, more like science thriller...sort of. I don't want to give away the plot for those who haven't seen it, but I think it's one of the best shows out there--intrigue and family relationships, drama and comedy. We watch it on Amazon via Prime. It does have an element of "cops," but it's so much more.

Christine DePetrillo said...

Orphan Black, thanks, Leah. I'll look for it. I've been rewatching Robin Hood the BBC 2006 TV series lately because I love the time period. Pretty sure I lived a past life there.

Vonnie Davis ~ Romance Author said...

I cry over the news and the Olympics. So, yeah, emotional ninnie here. I tend to get hung up on series where there's an underlying thread of conspiracy. I don't cry, but my mind enjoys that kind of thing.

Brenda Whiteside said...

Christine, I'm in the boat with Leah, and cry over movies, tv, and real life events. There was a McD's commercial that made me cry. My husband says he has as much fun watching me as the program half the time because of my facial expressions and ready tears. I can't stand vampires, totally creep me out so that wouldn't make me cry. I don't do much tv, but I am hooked on Madam Secretary and have shed a few tears.

Rolynn Anderson said...

Another cry-baby here. I tear up at tender moments, sad partings, and signs of courage, but the waterworks take off when people are dying/die. Last of the Mohicans when we lose the sister, Terms of Endearment when the daughter goes. Oh, brother! I'm conscious of the fact the author/director WANTS us to cry, yet still, I do. I agree with Diane that a good cry is healthy, every once in a while. But I don't seek out cry-shows...in general, I feel spent after a sobber, and tend to analyze the 'uncontrollable' reaction: where the hell did that come from?

Jannine Gallant said...

Another crier here. Books, TV shows, movies, commercials, news stories, pretty much anything sad. If an animal dies, it's over for me. I don't do supernatural, but for Netflix series, my girls (18 & 20) are in love with the Gilmore Girls. It's more like watching romcom, though. I admit to getting sucked in a time or two, but the characters talk irritatingly fast. I think LOST was on Netflix. Did you watch that live on TV? It's kind of sci-fi and is crazy good, in my opinion.

Leslie Scott said...

EVERYTHING makes me ugly cry. It's a disease. lol


Now, though, I have a strong desire to actually watch The Vampire Diaries (having grown up a fan of the books the show is based off of, I never could watch it).